Army Captain Jennifer Peace was on vacation when President Donald Trump attempted to tweet-fire her. It hit at 6:04 A.M. on Wednesday in Tacoma, and she awoke to “absolute chaos.” Her phone was flooded with texts, voicemails, e-mails, Facebook postings—every app she opened was engulfed. Fear spiked, but she’s trained to control that. And the outpouring of support, much of it from within the military, was overwhelming. That was reassuring.

Peace, who was assigned male at birth, was outed in 2015. The disclosure rocked her unit at first, but then everyone got used to it. When a new brigade commander took command recently, she chose not to mention it. She wanted him to see her as a soldier first, without preconceptions. The outgoing commander agreed. It had become a non-issue.

Then came Trump’s tweet. So Peace raced to post and re-outed herself to the colonel. “I owed him the courtesy,” she said. He was supportive, but now Peace feels that she’s back to being “the transgender intelligence officer.” For a few blissful weeks, she had been just an intelligence officer, “treated like every other soldier,” she said. “Everything that happened, good or bad, was because of my performance and nothing else.”

Brynn Tannehill

Rank/branch of military: Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy. In the reserves until July 1, 2017Hometown: Phoenix, AZProudest moment: “All the years of training and dedication came together for me in those moments where I was there for my shipmates when they needed me the most. They survived because we were there.”Biggest misconception: “The idea that it’s too expensive to retain transgender service members is laughable to me. It costs more to replace two highly trained transgender service members than to provide health care for every last one of them.”

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Allyson Robinson

Rank/branch of military: Captain, U.S. ArmyHometown: Scranton, PAProudest moment: “Taking command of my first platoon after I graduated from West Point. Leading American soldiers is the single greatest honor I’ve ever received.”Biggest misconception: “People often assume I joined the Army to ‘make a man out of myself.’ I didn’t. I joined the Army out of a sense of gratitude for all I’d been given by this country.”

Photo: Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Kristin Beck

Rank/branch of military: Senior Chief, U.S. Navy SEALsHometown: Wellsville, NYProudest moment: “I saved the life of an Afghanistan man in the middle of chaos. I also saw him later on and was able to have tea with him.”Biggest misconception: The idea that this is a new issue. “Transgender people have been serving since the Revolutionary war, and most of us don’t cost a thing.”

Photo: Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Blake Dremann

Rank/branch of military: Active Duty Navy Lieutenant CommanderHometown: St. Louis, MOProudest moment: “The day I qualified in submarines and was pinned with my dolphins.”Biggest misconception: “We are obsessed with transitioning and cannot function or do our jobs. Many transgender service members are at the top of their game and they only get better when they are allowed to transition.”

Photo: Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Laila Ireland

Rank/branch of military: Retired Army Corporal, worked as a Health-care Management Administration Specialist
Hometown: Waipahu, HI
What is your proudest moment in the service? “Knowing that the solider was going to be able to go home to their family was and is always the most satisfying part of my career.”
What is the biggest misconception you’d like to correct? “The most common one in my opinion is that transgender people are incapable of fulfilling a duty because they are mentally unstable. In order to serve in these roles, you have to be mentally sound.”

Photo: Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Jacob Eleazer

Rank/branch of military: Captain, Kentucky National Guard. Currently serving in the 198th Military Police Battalion as the Senior Human Resources OfficerHometown: Lexington, KYProudest moment: “Being selected as T.A.C. (Teach, Assess, Counsel) officer of the year. It meant a lot to me to know that both my soldiers and command thought so well of my work, even as the Army was processing me for involuntary discharge due to being transgender.”Biggest misconception: “That being transgender is the most important part of who we are. I am proud to be a transgender man, but when it comes down to it, I am a commissioned officer in the United States Army.”

Photo: Photograph by Jacob Roberts.

Logan Ireland

Rank/branch of military: Active Duty Sergeant in the U.S. Air ForceHometown: Flower Mound, TXProudest moment: “To be fortunate enough to see the policy change for transgender military members like myself. To see my brothers and sisters no longer have to serve in silence is a humbling experience.”Biggest misconception: “We only want to serve in the military to have our transitions paid for. At no point is my military service about me; it’s about those who came before me.”

Photo: Photographed by Matthew Mahon.

Brynn Tannehill

Rank/branch of military: Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy. In the reserves until July 1, 2017Hometown: Phoenix, AZProudest moment: “All the years of training and dedication came together for me in those moments where I was there for my shipmates when they needed me the most. They survived because we were there.”Biggest misconception: “The idea that it’s too expensive to retain transgender service members is laughable to me. It costs more to replace two highly trained transgender service members than to provide health care for every last one of them.”

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Allyson Robinson

Rank/branch of military: Captain, U.S. ArmyHometown: Scranton, PAProudest moment: “Taking command of my first platoon after I graduated from West Point. Leading American soldiers is the single greatest honor I’ve ever received.”Biggest misconception: “People often assume I joined the Army to ‘make a man out of myself.’ I didn’t. I joined the Army out of a sense of gratitude for all I’d been given by this country.”

Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Kristin Beck

Rank/branch of military: Senior Chief, U.S. Navy SEALsHometown: Wellsville, NYProudest moment: “I saved the life of an Afghanistan man in the middle of chaos. I also saw him later on and was able to have tea with him.”Biggest misconception: The idea that this is a new issue. “Transgender people have been serving since the Revolutionary war, and most of us don’t cost a thing.”

Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Blake Dremann

Rank/branch of military: Active Duty Navy Lieutenant CommanderHometown: St. Louis, MOProudest moment: “The day I qualified in submarines and was pinned with my dolphins.”Biggest misconception: “We are obsessed with transitioning and cannot function or do our jobs. Many transgender service members are at the top of their game and they only get better when they are allowed to transition.”

Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Jennifer Long

Rank/branch of military: Army Sergeant Major, retired in 2012Hometown: Jersey City, NJProudest moment: “My service in Afghanistan in 2010–2011. I was awarded the French National Defense Medal, the first American to receive that medal since World War II.”Biggest misconception: “Expensive, complicated surgeries would make them non-deployable or [reduce their] effectiveness.”

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Sheri Swokowski

Rank/branch of military: Colonel, U.S. Army. Retired December 4, 2004, after 35 years of service.Hometown: Manitowoc, WIProudest moment: “I was the first woman to (legitimately) wear an infantry uniform after my DD 214 was changed to reflect my authenticity. I wore that uniform at [a] Pentagon Pride Event and [the] White House Pride month reception in June 2015.”Biggest misconception: “Some people, particularly the older generation, believe trans individuals are mentally ill. Being transgender is a medical condition, no different than someone suffering from diabetes or heart disease. All medical conditions are deserving of treatment.”

Photograph by Kevin Miyazaki.

Jennifer Peace

Rank/branch of military: Active Duty Army Soldier, Intelligence OfficerHometown: Houston, TXProudest moment: “The day I took command of a company. It was something I had given up hope on ever doing after deciding to transition, assuming that my career would be over.”Biggest misconception: “I think what it all comes down to is this stereotype people have of who trans people are. Once you work with someone and know someone personally, it breaks those stereotypes down.”

Photograph by Robbie McClaran.

Laila Ireland

Rank/branch of military: Retired Army Corporal, worked as a Health-care Management Administration Specialist
Hometown: Waipahu, HI
What is your proudest moment in the service? “Knowing that the solider was going to be able to go home to their family was and is always the most satisfying part of my career.”
What is the biggest misconception you’d like to correct? “The most common one in my opinion is that transgender people are incapable of fulfilling a duty because they are mentally unstable. In order to serve in these roles, you have to be mentally sound.”

Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

Jacob Eleazer

Rank/branch of military: Captain, Kentucky National Guard. Currently serving in the 198th Military Police Battalion as the Senior Human Resources OfficerHometown: Lexington, KYProudest moment: “Being selected as T.A.C. (Teach, Assess, Counsel) officer of the year. It meant a lot to me to know that both my soldiers and command thought so well of my work, even as the Army was processing me for involuntary discharge due to being transgender.”Biggest misconception: “That being transgender is the most important part of who we are. I am proud to be a transgender man, but when it comes down to it, I am a commissioned officer in the United States Army.”

Photograph by Jacob Roberts.

Logan Ireland

Rank/branch of military: Active Duty Sergeant in the U.S. Air ForceHometown: Flower Mound, TXProudest moment: “To be fortunate enough to see the policy change for transgender military members like myself. To see my brothers and sisters no longer have to serve in silence is a humbling experience.”Biggest misconception: “We only want to serve in the military to have our transitions paid for. At no point is my military service about me; it’s about those who came before me.”

Photographed by Matthew Mahon.

The tweet sent shockwaves through the military. Captain Peace checked in with peers around the world, wondering how it was impacting not just them but their units. “I know a transgender drill sergeant, a transgender helicopter pilot, a fixed-wing aircraft pilot, a combat medic, an infantry squad leader—more critical roles than I think people imagine,” she said. “If all these people are suddenly pulled from their positions and fired overnight, what does that do to unit readiness? What does that do to unit morale when the person you rely on is suddenly gone?”

So Captain Peace was astounded to hear White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeat two phrases over and over as the imperatives behind the decision: “military readiness” and “unit cohesion.”

Active Duty Army Soldier, Intelligence Officer Jennifer Peace

Photograph by Robbie McClaran.

Knowingly or not, Sanders had just exhumed the corpse of Congress’s 1993 law preventing gays from serving openly in the military. The words “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” never appeared in the actual statute, but “unit cohesion” did, five times.

In Virginia, Navy Lieutenant Commander Blake Dremann was on duty when Trump pressed send on his tweet. His commanders assured Dremann they had his back, then directed him to drop what he was doing to focus on his advocacy work. Dremann is president of SPARTA, the L.G.B.T. military advocacy group that supports the largest number of transgender service members. Normally, Dremann handles that load after hours, but suddenly it was mission critical.

“We don’t accomplish our mission without every service member showing up to give their all,” he said. If a member of a team is suddenly distracted by fear of losing their job, their career, and their mission in life, that detracts from the mission. If everyone else on their team is worried about them, that’s an even bigger distraction.

The United States Navy trains its officers to lead men and women under extreme duress, to buck them up with a calming voice in the horrors of war. He said his commander told him Wednesday that a lot of transgender service members around the world would be looking to him to be that calming voice. “Go do that.”

Thursday got better. The Pentagon issued two stunning directives, announcing that nothing would change unless the president notified the secretary of defense, who in turn would need to issue formal guidelines. That was reassuring, Peace said, and validated her chain of command’s decision to back her. “But I’m still pretty worried,” she said this weekend.

Captain Peace wondered who else was on edge. “How do you feel safe if we can take a class of people that have been serving openly and serving honorably and say, ‘You can’t serve anymore’? Then who’s next? Is it gays and lesbians? Is it women? Blacks? Muslims? Atheists? At any moment, it might be you that’s told you’re not qualified to serve any longer, either.”

Before he was Blake, Dremann was serving in a submarine as a woman, convinced his closet was securely locked. Then he transferred to the Pentagon in 2015. About three days in, a female lieutenant colonel pulled him aside and asked, “Is there another name you go by outside of work?”

He was alarmed. He confessed the full story, but asked how she knew. “You don’t exactly present as a female,” she said. Oh. She had been doing some reading, Dremann said.

“My previous command on an all-male submarine didn’t have a clue,” Dremann said. “It was 2013—people barely knew what transgender was. When my voice dropped, they just figured it was my cigarette smoking. Testosterone? Not how people react.”

The lieutenant colonel called Dremann back an hour after their Pentagon conversation. She said the division had discussed it and, if he was O.K. with it, they would like to call him Blake.

Active Duty Navy Lieutenant Commander, Blake Dremann

Photograph by T.J. Kirkpatrick.

The general perception is that Congress freed gays to serve when it repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but that isn’t quite accurate. All it did was repeal its own prohibition on gays, returning to the status quo, where the president and his commanders exercise unfettered authority.

The policy of expelling homosexuals from the U.S. military dates back to the 18th century. General George Washington ordered Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin literally drummed out of the Continental Army for copulating with a private in his cabin. A solemn disgracement ceremony was conducted on the Valley Forge Grand Parade, where Enslin’s sword was broken in half over his head and he was marched out, as drummers and fifers beat a slow dirge.

For most of the ensuing 215 years, American presidents chose to exercise their discretion against the L.G.B.T. community. There was only one anomaly where Congress intervened—the 17 years of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It forbade the president from allowing known homosexuals, but didn’t actually mention transgender members of the military. When Congress rescinded that law in 2010, it returned to silence. President Obama had no more or less authority over those who identified as L.G.B.T. than any of his predecessors prior to 1993. But he was the only one to use it to protect them. Trump was the second, until Wednesday.

No one knows how many transgender service members have come out since Defense Secretary Ash Carter gave the all-clear in June 2016. Many came out quietly within their units. Lieutenant Commander Dremann estimates that about 250 have officially had their gender marker changed since Carter’s announcement.

I wondered how many felt duped, even if inadvertently, by a well-intentioned command. Dremann and Peace were both surprised by the question. “Coming out has been an almost universally positive experience,” Peace said. Most service members have been so inspired by the support lavished on them by the men and women they fight beside, they would never consider turning back. “Our readiness improves by coming out,” Peace said. “You’re a healthier person.” And you’re not distracted by fear and consumed by lies. “You can focus on your mission.”

But they are out. Thousands of their peers are apparently still in hiding. And like gays and lesbians under D.A.D.T., it’s hard to know what they’re going through, since most fear speaking to the press.

I spoke to a different “Jennifer” by phone Sunday, on the condition that I omit her legal name and certain key identifiers. She is an Air Force master sergeant with more than 20 years of service as a primary air crew member, serving as a man. She went quite a ways down the transition path, paying her own way with civilian practitioners, but paused a few months ago just before starting hormone therapy. That would require a flight doctor’s approval, which would out her, and also ground her for roughly six months until her hormones came into balance. With the new administration, and intolerance of the transgender community running high in her area, it didn’t feel safe.

“There is a sense of betrayal,” Jennifer said. “This is like a trap.” The brass had said it was O.K. to come out, so friends did. “Now the door is being slammed. For being honest, they’re going to pay with the price of their careers.”

Most of her peers in the air crew didn’t take that chance, she said. Intolerance of transgender people runs high there, and it doesn’t feel safe. “I work with people who totally disagree with me being transgender,” she said. But those same people respect the chain of command, and were treating those who are transgender professionally until this week. There were always crass jokes and derogatory Facebook posts here and there, she said, but they have gone through the roof since the commander in chief appeared to give his approval. “When he tweets that way, he gives people the right to be disrespectful,” she said. “Because the president leads by example.”

Jennifer said most of her peers are angry about the way Trump announced the ban, but she sees it as an opening. “I’m glad he did it in such a blatant, unprofessional way. People are no longer sitting on the fence.” She was awed to see even arch-conservative Mormon Senator Orrin Hatch come out in support of transgender troops. “Trump forced people to choose a side, and I believe most people will choose kindness,” she said.

Jennifer would like to see Congress act, to protect all of the L.G.B.T. community and to make the policy permanent, not subject to the whims of any future president.

The Military Readiness Enhancement Act would have corrected that by forbidding sexual orientation discrimination, but it died in committee in the House several times between 2005 and 2009. After the repeal of D.A.D.T., the act didn’t seem necessary.

Until Wednesday, that is. Congress could pass it at any time, and, with a few additional words, it would protect transgender members from Trump, too.